Reversible coupling.



S. H. STOFFEL & H..J. JANSSEN.

REVERSIBLE COUPLING.

APPEICATION FILED JULY 22.19xs.

Elm/396%.. Patent ed 001:. 26, 1915.

Fig.1 5 4} Fig.3.

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snvroiv HENRI s'rorrnn AND nnnnnxr: Jinn mivssnn, or Danni,nn'ri-rnntnivns.

REVERSIBLE GOUIPLING.

mavens.

specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Got. 26, 1%15.

Application filed July 22, 1913. Serial No. 7%,434.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Snv on HENRI Sror- FEL and HENDRIK; J An Jnnssnn,subjects of the Netherlands, residing at Delft, Netherlands, haveinvented certain new anduseful mounted on an axle carried in the'housingand in such a way that it can slide with respect to such axle, thismember being connected with the shafts by means of rotatable heads orthe like engaging guideways carried by the shafts.

The essential feature of the present invention consists in providing inthe space between the thickened heads of the shafts to be coupledtogether and the inner surface of the housing on both sides of thesliding piece, laminated coupling devices adapted to relieve the slidingpiece, such coupling devices consisting of disks or rings connected withthe ends of the shafts by means of keyways and keys and other disks orrings connected to the housing by keyways and keys, so that when thehousing is moved in one direction the laminated couplings are broughtinto engagement and the shafts-are rigidly coupled with the housing andconsequently are driven in the same direction while on moving thehousing in the opposite direction the laminated couplings are uncoupled,and the housing is lockedby a conical coupling or brake and the drivenshaft then rotates in the opposite direction to the driving shaft.

With the foregoing construction, moreover, the result is obtained whenthe device is adapted-to the propelling mechanism of ships than whendriving in the forward direction that iswhen the driven shaft and thedriving shaft are driving in the same direction, the laminated couplingis held in engagement and the rod or the like for effecting thecouplingcan be released, while when reversing that is to say when thedriving shaft is turning in the opposite dlrecof which the following isa.

The coupling portion itself tion to the driven shaft and the screw, andthe housing is in engagement with the fixed casing by means of theconical coupling the rod or the like effecting the coupling can again bereleased.

The invention further provides means for ,compensatingfo1' the wearbetween the pins or equivalent parts entering the recesses in theenlarged ends of the shafts.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my device. Fig, 2 isa sectionillustratingone methed of'for ning the spherical portion of the slidingpart. Fig. 8 shows a special formation of the ring-like excentric recessin the thickened hea I of the driving or driven shaft for the purpose ofcompensating for irregularities in the spherical shaped f bodiesengaging in the recesses.

1 is the driving shaft.

2 is the driven shaft.

3 is a housing in which the device for coupling the two shafts islocated. The entire housing 3 can slide axially with respect to theshafts 1 and 2, and has on the inside thereof a transverse axle 5located in an inner bush or liner l, upon which it is r0- tatablymounted, remaining however in fixed relation to the casing 3, a slidingpiece 6 provided with pins 7, upon which pins spherical or cylindricalheads or bodies 8 are rotatably mounted. These bodies 8 engage incylindrical recesses 9 in the thickened end bqsses or coupling members10 of the parts 1 and 1 end bosses 10 is smaller than the inner di- Thediameter of these ameter of the housing 3, In the circular ring likespace 11 thus formed, are provided at the side of the liner 4: and insuch a way I as to take the strain off the member 6, lammated couphngsconsisting of disks 12 connected with the housing 3 by keys and keyways12 and disks 13 connected with the :box like end or heads 10 by meansofkey- .ways and keys 1.3.

the sake of clearness, the laminae are only In the drawings, for

shown inone of the side spaces 11.

If the shaft 2, which may be the driving 7 shaft "for the propeller of avessel is slid axially with respect to the housing, for instance bymeans of a coupling ring engaging in a groove 14 and in direction of thearrow 15, in such a way that the laminae 13 come in couple engagementwith the laminae 12, then the shaft turns. synchronously and in the samedirection with the shaft 1. In this case, moreover, the axial thrustexerted by the ships propeller operates to maintain the couple positionbetween the laminae 12 and 13, so that the coupling pin which takes intothe groove 14. can be released, or relieved.

Where it is required to reverse, the shaft Qis pulled in the directionof the arrow 18 7 until it brings the cone member 16 of the casing 3into engagement with the fixed cone member 17 thus holding the casing 3and preventing its rotation. At the same time the laminw l2 and 13 havebeen brought out of engagement. i When the shaft 1 is rotated the body8, contained inthe recess 9 in the enlargedend of the shaft, is carriedaround by the said enlarged end because the center of this body can moveonly upon the surface of a cylinder the axis of which is the axis .ofthe shaft 1. "As the shaft rotates it carries around the body 8 at thesame time causing the sleeve 6 to slide upon the now fixed axle 5 and torotate for a sufficient dis I v tance'around the same to enable the body8 to 'follow its required path. On consideration it will'be seen that asthe body 8 cooperating with the shaft 1 is moving forward and downward,owing to the combined rotary and sliding movements of the sleeve 6 theother body 8 in connection with the shaft 2 will be moved backward anddownward, so that the shaft 2 will be rotated in a reverse direction tothe shaft 1. It may be observed that the centers of the bodies 8 alsomove on the surface of a cylinder having its axis coinciding with theaxis of the axle 5, so

a that the actual path of the center of each of'thebodies 8 is the lineof intersection of two cylinders one having an axis corresponding to theshaft 1 and the other having gages in the eccentric recess of thethickened head: upon the driving or driven axle. If a spherical shapebody closely fitting into a corresponding eccentric-recess is provided,the central point of the sphere moves upon a cylinderconcentric with theaxis of the shaft. 'If the second sphere fits tightly in its recess,then'its central point would move upon a cylinder of the same diameterconcentric with the axle of the'shaft. Should irregularities exist inthe formation of the two spheres, or shouldsuch irregularities beproduced by the wear of the spheres, then the two spheres would not moveupon the same cylinder around the axle of the shaft and a binding orjamming action would result between the spheres and the eccentricrecess. I11 order to avoid the foregoing drawback, we proceed in thefollowing way. We provide a device or devices, such as that illustratedin Fig. 3 in which 20 is a half moon or crescent shaped piece. One ofthese pieces is adapted to be fitted into one or each ofthe recesses inthe thickened head of the driving axle. In order to compensate forirregularities in the construction of the spherical shape bodies thehalf moon or crescent shape piece 20 may be inserted when the couplingis first fitted together, or a piece such as described may be insertedto compensate for irregularities produced by wear at any time.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is.

1. In a reversible coupling, a power shaft, a driven shaft, concentricheads on the opposing ends of said shafts, a housing sur-' rounding saidshaft heads and slidably mounted with relation to said shafts, atransverse shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, a sliding piecemounted upon said shaft, recesses having bearing faces formed in theopposing faces of the heads of said shaft, pins on said sliding pieceadapted to enter the recesses on said shafts, said bearing faces beingeccentric to the shafts, laminated coupling rings secured to theinterior of said housing, laminated coupling rings secured to the headof one of said shafts, said coupling rings being adapted to co-act.

2. In a reversible coupling, a power shaft,

a driven shaft, concentric heads on the opposing ends of said shaft, ahousing surrounding said shaft heads and slidably mounted with relationto said shafts, a transverse shaft rotatably mounted in said hons ing,a'sliding piece mounted upon said shaft, recesses having bearing facesformed in the opposing faces of the heads of said shafts, pins on saidsliding piece adapted to enter the recesses on said shafts, sphericalbodies mounted on said pins, crescent shaped pieces inserted in saidrecesses to engage said spherical bodies, said bearing faces beingeccentric to the shafts, laminated coupling rings secured to theinterior of said housing, laminated coupling rings secured to the headof one of said shafts, said coupling rings being adapted to co-act.

In testimony whereof we afi'ix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

SIMON HENRI STOFFEL. HENDRIK JAN JANSSEN. Witnesses: M. BAKER,

J. W. FAFEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G.

